It had to be done
by irenehcarstairs
Summary: SPOILERS FOR THE FIERY HEART! I can't say much without spoiling the book, but it is in Zoe Sage's point of view. Read if you have read The Fiery Heart. Rated T just in case some find it not fitting for K , because I don't think it does.


**SPOILERS FOR THE FIERY HEART BY RICHELLE MEAD**

**A/N: **As there is a countless number of Zoe hate, not only in the "zoe sage" tag but also the "sydrian" tag etc on tumblr, I felt the need to write chapter 22 of TFH in Zoe's point of view. If you've read the book, you know clearly well what happens in this chapter. If you don't want to read this or didn't read the book, don't click that "read more" and if you do decide to read it, don't come complaining to me in my inbox. The last thing I want is anon/non-anon hate from this. This is simply my take on what was going on in Zoe's head during that chapter. If you don't like it, then you don't. There's no need to hate on me for it. If you've read my anti-zoe-hate post, you know how much I love the little Sage to bits and you'll never be able to change my opinion.

**Disclaimer:** The texts between Sydney and Adrian and the dialogue between Sydney/Mr. Sage/Zoe is not mine, nor do I claim that they are. However, this drabble is mine and you may **NOT** take any part of it and take credit for it.

Yesterday, when Zoe was practicing those turns in the parking lot, under the supervision of the Guardian, Eddie Castile, she didn't mind the constant practice of nothing but turns. Plus, it was the few times when she didn't mind the dhampir's company. She had come to learn that dhampirs weren't as bad as the Moroi. At least the half-vampire and half-human guardians looked and acted human. It was only after Eddie thought she had practiced enough for the day and let her park the car, which was one skill she still had to polish on but managed with the guidance of the dhampir, when Zoe found something in the backseat. She was looking for the copy of _Midsummer Night's Dream_ she had borrowed at Clarence's, and though she did find it on the floor, she also found something else. It was a phone, but it wasn't hers or Sydney's. Who else would it be?

Curiously, the brunette looked through the messages, which were all sent to one mysterious person. _I love you too._ One text read. Who loved who? She wondered. Within the Sage family, she was always the curious one to irrelevant details and Sydney was the one who knew everything. The perfect Alchemist her father had always wanted. The reason she, herself, was so ignored.

**_Ran in to Wolfe. He asked Ms. T out. SHE ACCEPTED._** Read the received messages. _?!_ was the response.

Ms. T… Why did that sound so familiar? _Can you talk?_ Then, there was a call record from the same number all the other texts were sent to. _Escape plan #5: Open an alpaca ranch in Texas, one that requires all blond-haired, brown-eyed, brainy girls to wear sexy cowgirl outfits._ The other read.

Ms. T… Blond-haired, brown-eyed, brainy girl… All this pointed towards one person, but it possibly couldn't be. It couldn't be Sydney. Sure, her sister was close to them but not _this_ close… The texts looked as if this person's phone was close with her sister, since he, she assumed, knew a lot of the other people her sister were close with. _Got you a book of poetry. Maybe shorter pieces will be easier than Gatsby._ Zoe vaguely remembered Sydney holding a short-looking book when they left Clarence's… It was the next chain of texts that caught Zoe's attention.

**_I did it. I made a breakthrough with that charm. _**_I never doubted. Would you believe I made a breakthrough with charms too? _**_Of course I believe it. When do you get back?_**_ Early evening. Can you come over? _**_I'll try. We need to celebrate._**_ Should I get champagne and cake ready? _**_Get your bed ready._**_ Wear the black bra. _**_I didn't plan on wearing one._**

If these texts were really between Sydney and someone else… that meant… _No. She wouldn't._ Zoe thought to herself. Not being able to bring herself to read anymore messages as she was pretty positive this was between her sister and a mysterious boy…who sounded like a Moroi…breakthrough with charms. Who else would it be if it wasn't a Moroi with magic? If this was all true…that meant Sydney, the perfect, smart Alchemist, had betrayed the Alechemist beliefs. Arriving at their dorm, Zoe put the phone under her pillow and lied down on her bed, trying to finish _A Midsummer Night's Dream, _but wasn't succeeding. Her mind was lingering with those few texts she had read. _Ms. T. _Sydney. _Blond-haired. _Sydney. _Brown-eyed. _Sydney. _Brainy. _Sydney. _Charms. _Moroi. _Celebrate. Bed. _Relationship. A romantic one, at that. _Breakthrough with charms. _That meant magic. Which was strongly against Alchemist beliefs. Sure, they had some chemicals to aid them in fulfilling their duties of keeping the other humans safe, but magic was not among them. They were all simply chemicals mixed together to create the outcome.

When Sydney still wasn't here for the next couple minutes, Zoe swiftly reached for the phone and scrolled through the messages until one caught her eye.

**_Told Z I left my phone in the store, so I went back and got a sketchpad and some pigments. Know any starving artist who could use them?_**

Z… That was an old nickname Carly and Sydney used to call her, and Zoe remembered that night clearly. It was after she and Sydney went to get graphing paper she needed for math class, and they came back to their dorms. A couple hours later, Sydney told her about the phone she left and said she'd go and get it and that she should stay here and finish her homework. Had her sister lied to her all along? Putting the phone away again, Zoe flipped through the pages of the play and sighed. That was the moment when everything clicked together. All the hints in the texts hinted towards one person, and that one person was Sydney. The mysterious male Moroi wasn't that hard to figure out either. Who was the artist among the dhampirs and Moroi at Palm Springs? Adrian Ivashkov. That was it. Those peppermint cupcakes Sydney had "bought", but Angeline had talked about Adrian baking them and the other occasions when her sister seemed to be hesitant, a little…different. Unlike the perfect Alchemist she was.

Shivering at the thought of what the two of them could have done all this time, the young brunette lied down on her bed, thinking of a way to tell her father. The copy of _Midsummer Night's Dream_ was next to her, closed. While Zoe was drowned in her thoughts the door clicked open, and a blonde figure walked in. "Zoe, let's go out for lunch or something. Get away from cafeteria food." She heard her sister say. "Don't you do plenty of that already?" Zoe snapped. "Coffee breaks with Ms. Terwilliger. Cupcake runs." She added, glancing at her sister in animosity. "It's not about the food. It's about you. I want us to talk." Her sister responded relatively calmly. "I don't want to talk to you." Zoe retorted, taking the copy of _Midsummer Night's Dream _and rolling on the bed so her back was facing Sydney. "Go away. Go do whatever it is you do." She mumbled, just loud enough for Sydney to hear. It was a while since she heard the footsteps and the door come to a close, but as soon as she did, Zoe rolled out of bed, put the copy of _The Midsummer Night's Dream _on the table and reached for her phone on the table. As quick as she could, she tapped the screen to call one of the few contacts she had. When he picked up on the third ring, "Zoe? Is something wrong?" Jared Sage questioned. "I…I need to talk to you about something. It's..important..about Sydney." The brunette responded quietly. "Very well, then. I'll come get you. We can talk at my hotel room." She heard him reply and then hang up.

It wasn't long before Zoe wore a coat , took her phone and the phone, that was presumably Adrian's, she found and headed out of the building; she didn't have to wait long when Jared Sage showed up. Going into the passenger seat of the car, Zoe sighed. She wasn't sure how she was going to tell him. Soon, the car was parked and they were on their way up to the hotel room. The entire car ride was silent, and Zoe's father didn't question her silence. It was only when they arrived at the hotel room, and Zoe sat on the bed when he asked, "What is going on, Zoe? What is it about Sydney you needed to talk to me about?" Sydney was her sister, but more importantly, she was an Alchemist who had betrayed the beliefs. "Sydney…she.. Remember when I told you that she was getting too close with them? When you met with us?" Jared Sage didn't respond, but from the look on his face, it was evident that he was listening. "She wasn't just doing things for them…She's a lot closer to one of them than I thought she was… a Moroi, a Royal one…He.. They're a lot closer. Not like I have to do my job kind of close..but like betraying our beliefs kind of close.." Zoe elaborated hesitantly, still unsure how to form her words. "What do you mean, Zoe?" He questioned. Of course, he would be suspicious at first. Sydney was the perfect Alchemist that Zoe longed to be, and no one would ever suspect that Sydney Sage of all people would betray the Alchemist beliefs. "I have evidence of how close they are. I found this in the back of Sydney's car, and I was looking through the texts." Zoe added, pulling out the phone she found, and began finding the texts as Jared Sage walked over and sat down next to her.

**_Ran in to Wolfe. He asked Ms. T out. SHE ACCEPTED._** "Ms. T, that's Sydney's teacher. The one she's always doing extra work for. Sydney sent that to him." **_Escape plan #5: Open an alpaca ranch in Texas, one that requires all blond-haired, brown-eyed, brainy girls to wear sexy cowgirl outfits._**"Blond-haired, brown eyed and brainy, dad. Who do you know that is blond, brown-eyed and brainy? Sydney. Here's one that proves her betrayal, though." **_I did it. I made a breakthrough with that charm. _**_I never doubted. Would you believe I made a breakthrough with charms too? _**_Of course I believe it. When do you get back?_**_ Early evening. Can you come over? _**_I'll try. We need to celebrate._**_ Should I get champagne and cake ready? _**_Get your bed ready._**_ Wear the black bra. _**_I didn't plan on wearing one. _**"Charms, dad. That's magic, which is strongly against our beliefs and the part after that, about celebration, bed, black bra, and not planning on wearing one. All that was sent by Sydney to that Royal Moroi." Zoe explained further, the concern on Jared Sage's face growing. "The last one, that proves it is Sydney," **_Told Z I left my phone in the store, so I went back and got a sketchpad and some pigments. Know any starving artist who could use them?_**"Remember when I was younger, Carly and Sydney used to call me 'Z'? And he's an artist, I've seen some of the stuff in his apartment when I had to go there with Jill and the others. Not only is she doing magic or whatever, but also in a relationship with one of _them. _A romantic one." **_Can't wait to see you tonight. I wish you were here. I need you right now. I love you. The centre will hold, and someday, we'll get away from all this. _**_"_Sydney sent that, and there wasn't a response. It was sent a few days before I found it." Zoe concluded. The look on her father's face told her that he was still processing all this in and so she remained quiet. "Where is she right now? Do you know?" She heard him ask. "I don't know where she is, but I know where she's going. She's meeting him, Adrian, and this other person. I don't know who he is, but she's probably on her way there right now. What are we going to do?" She asked. "You're not doing anything; you're just coming with me with that phone you found. But I am going to call the other Alchemists over." He responded.

Sooner or later, Zoe was with her father in the car once again, on their way to an abandoned building. "So that's the phone Sydney and that Moroi boy used to communicate? And you found his so Sydney still has it, right?" He asked as he drove. "Yes." Zoe responded. "Text her with it, say something that tells her to meet us at the restaurant that went out of business on Indian Canyon, and tell me whatever she responds and I'll tell you what to type back." _Change of plan. We're meeting at that restaurant that went out of business in Indian Canyon. _It wasn't long before a response came back.** "****_Marcus got in touch?_** That's what the text reads." Suddenly, the car came to a halt by the road side and Jared Sage turned to her. "Repeat that, what does it say?" He questioned, the expression stern on his face. "**Marcus got in touch?** Why? Who's Marcus?" Zoe asked. "No one. No one you need to know. Just tell her yes." His response was slow, but demanding, and he started the car again. _Yes. _Zoe texted back. "She responded with,**_That's a scary place at night._**_" _After a short while, when Jared Sage seemed to be contemplating the response, "Tell her it's a part of the plan and that we'll be there." With a nod, Zoe texted back, _That's part of the reasoning. Don't worry. We'll all be there. _"She says she needs to get some stuff first. Should I tell her that we'll get it for her?" As the car slowed down when they reached their destination, Jared Sage nodded but replied, "But remember, you're pretending to be that Moroi boy." _I'll get it for you. _Zoe typed back. Soon, came another response, **_You found the phone!_**Showing the phone to her dad, who nodded in response. _Yup. _When the next text came around, Zoe shuddered at it. **_I love you, see you soon._**"What I thought was true, dad. Look." She told him giving him the phone, who took it from her and told her to wait for her sister's arrival.

Sooner or later, the car she was all so familiar with from the hours of practicing the turns and occasionally parking and bringing it out of the car park pulled over the driveway; the headlights brightening the darkened area. Two figures stepped out of the car, and one of them was her sister and the other… was…Eddie. The dhampir who watched over her when she practiced driving. "Sydney! Sydney, I know you're here somewhere. If you have any common sense or decency left, come out and surrender." Her father shouted out into the darkness, that was only illuminated by the few flashlights the Alchemists had. "It'll be a lot easier on you if you do," he continued. "And as for that… boy. We don't need him. He can just go if you come with us." In a lower voice, he turned to Zoe, "Is that _him?" _"No, he's not the one." She responded without hesitation. "This is for your own good. It's for your soul. Your humanity. We know everything; we found the phone. Come with us so that we can save you from further damnation and defilement." Jared Sage yelled, even louder now, growing impatient.

As Sydney approached them, Eddie was nowhere to be seen, and her father ordered the other Alchemists to put her in the van. Before Zoe and her father slid in the car next to her, Jared Sage stopped his younger daughter. "Zoe, what you did…Turning her in..It was the right thing to do. Don't forget that." With a nod, Zoe formed a small smile that was hardly visible in the darkness. "I know, dad. I know. I was just doing what you taught me to do." Once they were in the backseat of the car, both of them sitting opposite sides of Sydney, there was silence between the three of them, until her sister turned to her. "You sold me out." The blonde spoke, in a tone of hardness that Zoe wasn't prepared for. The brunette swallowed, then responded. "Y-you sold yourself out. You've done horrible things. You've let them corrupt your mind." "Is that what this is really about? Or is it because I was going to testify for mom?" Jared Sage wasn't prepared for the second comment and interrupted the sisters' conversations, though it wasn't really interrupting. "This is about us showing you what family _really_ means. I take responsibility, of course. I should've known when you ran off with that dhampir girl that this would happen. I should've intervened then, but I was blinded by the sentiment." Whilst Sydney and their father was talking back to each other, Zoe remained their quiet, slightly nervous about what Sydney would think of the betrayal of her own sister.

_No, no. You did the right thing. Even dad said so. Everything you've wanted, the attention. You can finally get it and Sydney will be fixed. _She heard a voice inside her mind say, and at that moment, Sydney turned to her. "Did you steal the phone?" Shaking her head, the brunette responded quietly. "I found it in the car when I was practicing those turns…But there were other things too.." There were tears forming under her eyes. Despite the fact that she was doing this as what an another alchemist would do, Sydney was still her sister, someone who shared her blood. "Just the way you talked and laughed around them. The way you always disappeared. The cupcakes." It was obvious that her sister was confused, as she questioned. "You said you bought them. But in the cafeteria that one day, when Angeline was complaining about the cake, she started going off about the chocolate-peppermint ones Adrian had made. Something about waiting until they're cool to frost them." Zoe finished, the tears now rolling down her cheek. "We're going to save you." She added, her voice trembling. "I don't need saving. There's nothing wrong with me. You should've come to me first before unleashing all of this. We could've talked. I'm your sister." Shaking her head once more, the tears now dry, "No, Sydney. You're just another Alchemist, and I'm treating you like one— just like you told me to." At that moment, Sydney looked as if she was taken aback, and that was when Jared Sage jumped in once more. "You've been brainwashed, and we're going to undo it. This'll be a lot easier if you cooperate."

"I told you, there's nothing wrong with me!' Her sister yelled, in anger, causing Zoe to slightly flinch and the sudden heat of argument that was going on. "You're the ones deluded by centuries of bigotry and superstition. The Moroi and dhampirs are just like us—well, except they've got more honour and decency." As soon as those words escaped Sydney's mouth, her father lifted his hand up and struck her face, something Zoe knew he never did. Which meant only one thing. He was mad, very mad and it was best if Zoe remained quiet. As her father and sister continued to argue, the brunette tried her best to block out the yelling. Leaning against the car window, as the car drove on through the darkness, Zoe looked out into the emptiness, wondering where they were going. Tears formed under her eyes once more, and no matter how hard she tried to stop them, they trickled down her cheek, her almost-silent cries muffled by the yells of the two people next to her. Despite the tough, Alchemist-belief demeanor she had put out earlier, Sydney was still her sister, and although Zoe had done what she'd done as another Alchemist would, she was still her sister. The good memories, the ones they had before they worried about their calories intake, before they were pulled into Alchemist beliefs flashed by her mind like a montage, starting from the youngest age Zoe could remember.

The argument soon grew quiet, and Zoe turned her face to see a blonde figure's head on her father's lap, who was ignoring it, as if nothing was there. "Zoe, have you been crying? You don't need to worry. We'll fix her. I don't know how long it'll take, but we'll do it. You'll go back to homeschooling until we find a different place to relocate you to." Her father told her, the tone evidently different from just moments ago. The brunette nodded once more and leaned her head against the car window, staring out into the darkness as her eyes closed and drifted off to sleep.


End file.
